My Article Published in the "Lost Treasure " Magazine
This article on metal detecting the "obvious" sites was published in the "Lost Treasure " magazine, on page 26, in December 1998.
"Searching The Obvious"
For many treasure hunters who live in the northern states of the country the wintertime is the time to do research and fight depressing moods in anticipation of the upcoming season. Sometimes we are lucky when the mild winter gives us a nice break; the grounds become snowless and the temperatures go up into the mid 40s. This adds some more days to the season of active treasure hunting. Despite the short hours of the winter day's light, metal detecting during the cold months can be as exciting and “fruitful” as it is during the summer. You can make it happen if you search the most accessible sites situated along the roads — the "obvious" sites.
Since I found my first coin, a Mercury dime in a muddy hole five years ago, I have been addicted to the hobby so much that I sometimes feel guilty if I stay home on a warm and sunshiny day. During my first year of detecting, my excitement was growing up to the highest level until the winter came to Upstate New York where I live. Not to get depressed, I decided to work out the possibilities of continuing my treasure hunting activity. By that time the searching for hidden sites in the uninhabited areas had become a special interest of mine. I did not stop doing that even after the first snow. Soon I discovered that the winter landscape can be helpful in locating the most hidden "untouched" sites in remote areas. Sometimes, when the sky was overcast, the short winter days would become so dark that I could not take long hikes in the woods. Not to waste a metal detecting day, I decided to shift my focus onto the opposite — the obvious sites situated right off the local roads.
When I drove around observing the roadsides for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised. I continued doing that for a while and later completed a long list of all potential spots I discovered. That list still keeps me busy. It is important to know that the winter season is the best time to locate the "remains of the past" situated on the road sides.
During the summer, many of the obvious sites become unnoticeable as they are disguised by the overgrown vegetation or fallen trees and branches. During the winter the snowy landscape "bleaches out" colorful vegetation and makes the signs of the abandoned homesteads more visible; the remains of the stone walls in the deserted areas along the road, abandoned side roads, the openings in the stone walls, the mounds and depressions, the single standing trees and unusual vegetation, the overgrown shrubbery and still visible driveways. Usually the old foundations are located 20 or even ten feet away from the road. A few times I had the same tricky situation; the old colonial coins were buried so close to the county road that while digging them out I was almost swirled by the passing cars’ whirlwinds.
Certainly most of the sites have been searched. The question is "When?" Some of them are not obvious any longer after being blended into the natural surroundings for many years. If they were hunted last time in the 1960s, the metal detectors were not so advanced back then, there are more chances in finding a few nice leftovers. One 1848 Large Cent, some colonial buttons and a sterling silver ring were the finds I have recently dug out at the site littered with the old pull tabs.
While driving on the rural roads many of us pass by the abandoned sites either without noticing them or thinking of them as being hunted out. This is one of the reasons I do not believe that any site can be hunted out completely. Every time I search the spot that is claimed to be cleaned out, I still “squeeze out” a few old coins.
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